Legendary system V.2

In the last article we’ve gone over what the legendary system currently looks like and what they want(ed) it to be. So lets just fix it. Or why it’s not that easy. First we’ll see why it’s not as easy as some might think and the extra underlying problems each iteration has. In the end we can look at how SSG could go about updating the legendary weapons and balance it all out.

Why is the revamp so much hard work?

Every part of the game is touched by your legendary weapons.

1. The base-line of everyone’s damage
2. Legacies make or break skills
   1. Cooldown reduction
   2. Extra damage or heal magnitude
3. Reason to redo content such as box runs or dailies
4. Long term goal and lore

Remove or change any of these things and the game becomes a completely different beast. With every class update we see players return to that class. This will be a game update across the board (hopefully).How you play, what instance you do, what class you play or even if you play will probably change if that happens.

The difference between a new, quest or max LI

at this time it take a tremendous amount of work to go from a new to a finished LI. While you might not need it for normal questing or a simple instance. The gap between a returning player and one that has been around is growing with every update. 

Monster morale : autoattack (seconds) to compare LI levels
Damage tier	0 (new weapon)	37 (no extra work)	63 (max work)
Level 100	42	36	X
Level 105	45	40	X
Level 115	80	70	30
Level 120	X	107	42

Around 40-50 seconds seems to be the rate SSG aims for in killing time of mobs. With a weapon that can be gotten in a reasonable time and effort.

You can get your weapon to tier 37 with just item xp or doing quests. But by the time you’d get to level 115 it has already started to creep up significantly. By level 120 it will take more then twice as long to kill a mob on a new character or alt. If you wanted to do any grouping or challenging content you will have to acquire a lot of anfalas scrolls or crystals. Yet you wouldn’t be able to since those come from that same content. 

Why not make them cheaper or allow us to get larger versions?

While making them cheaper would solve the issue for alts. This would harm SSG on point 3 and 4 and wouldn’t help new players.  It’s the same reason why materials for essences are only available in the latest 2 regions. 

For why there are no x10 version available? Most likely a technical issue. We’ve gotten multi-runes after it was requested for ages. Why there x10 isn’t the default of each scroll? Probably technical and keeping you playing. 

Remove all legendaries and use normal weapons

After a good 18 months nearly all skills and classes have been updated. Removing every legendary weapon would break every sense of balance and throw that 18 months of work overboard. Most classes would go back to 1-2 buttons as skills become worthless. 

Examples

• Hunter damage over time get boosted by 64% making barbed arrow useful now. Gone.
• Warriors heart goes down from 40% to 10%. 1 less emergency skill for a guard
• Stamp cooldown up from 10 s to 20s. Extra interrupter needed.
• Bearform 30% less damage as a beorning. 

Legacies add a lot tweaking and possibilities to your class. However by this time it’s such an investment that every class is forced to pick certain legacies. Losing the flexibility you had with the non-imbued system.

How to go from here

A revamp is in the works for 2019/2020, but with Minas Morgul coming up it’s most likely 2020. How it’s shaped we’ll have to see, but we can make an educated guess. The underlying system will be remade, but most likely we’ll keep foundation of legacies. Fixing the entry to legendary weapons and reducing the time spend on it should be done it the same revamp. So let’s see what our options are.

Three weapons in one slot

For now we’re using one system for levels 50 to 100 that is converted into imbuement while in the background we still have normal weapons which are fixed in their place. Each one has their merits, but also their own problems.

System	Pro	Con
Fixed	Simplicity Fixed drop	Loss of legacies Continuous work (SSG)
Legendary	Upgradable Cheap and flexible	Random rewards Deconstructing
Imbued	Endless upgrades Options in theory	Endless grind Too complex at the start

Lore – a legendary feel

Every weapon is special to you. Yet only some make it into the annals of history. Glamdring, Sting, Orc-heaver and others are fixed in books that SSG to adhere by. We can’t make up any new events such as other games. When World of warcraft wanted to introduce a new design for their legendary weapon they used a world shattering event to fix the hole that it would open up. They make the storylines completely themselves.

While lotro can bend the story a bit Sauron isn’t going to come by and shatter every LI in the game. One option they could use is the vanishing of “magic” with the departure of the Elves and the fourth age. But i like my runekeeper as well. 

What would the optimal system look like?

1. Smooth out the difference between new and maximum without losing time invested
   1. But not allow a level 100 with level 120 like damage
   2. Prevent scaling issues like Ettenmoors or big battles.
2. Keep the boost on skills without needing to redo all the work
3. Leave on level content (more) relevant
   1. Leave level 60’s doing level 60 quests etc
   2. Don’t make older content (exploitable) too relevant for higher levels
4. Future proof or adjustable rewards (legendary server or events)
5. Easy to learn, hard to master
   1. No paperwork before imbuement legacy changes
   2. Introduce new system like settings, gems, titles slowly to level 50’s
6. More fun and rewarding for all
   1. Easier to maintain for SSG
   2. Don’t drive away new or returning players

How it could look like?

I believe we’re heading to a system which has 2 possible options. A mix of Fixed/legendary weapons with imbued legacies(infused with virtue xp) or full blown trait system.

1 – Normal weapon drops with fancy names and history that you could hunt for in instances or craft yourself. While it would lose the legendary feel of a personal weapon it would keep the continued progress across all levels. Without losing on the other options. It would also avoid 1 problem that system 2 would have.

2 – Turn all legacies into a virtue-like system. Allow players to switch out legacies without spending weeks finding new scrolls etc. You’d keep your “legendary” weapon from level 50 onward. But most weapon drops would become irrelevant as is crafting them. Your legendary weapon would remain fixed with settings, rune, weapon titles. But all legacies (including dps) would be controlled by a level capped trait.

2.5 – Your weapon and cap would be controlled by a “symbol” that you’d slot. Allowing you to hunt for a weapon that would still be suitable for your level. Instead of destroying a complete weapon you’d replace your symbol by either a yellow quest reward or fancy first age raid reward.

Addendum notes

One part that’s not touched on is the Lotro store and Mithril coins options. Refunds of already bought LI slots, unlocks or possible future options will need to be made, but that choice will be up for a ton of backlash regardless of what SSG go with.